


A Lost Cause (Take A Hint)

by berryjungkook



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Angst, Confused Eren Yeager, Cute Eren Yeager, Eren Yeager Has Heterochromia Iridum, First Kiss, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Insecure Eren Yeager, Insecurity, Jealous Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Jealousy, Levi/Eren Yeager Fluff, Levi/Eren Yeager-centric, M/M, Miscommunication, Oblivious Eren Yeager, Pining Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Possessive Behavior, Possessive Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Shy Eren Yeager, Titan Eren Yeager
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-30
Updated: 2021-03-13
Packaged: 2021-03-16 00:55:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29073669
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/berryjungkook/pseuds/berryjungkook
Summary: Eren has no idea what he did to get on Captain Levi's bad side. Yesterday morning when it was his turn to clean the stables, Captain Levi yelled at him to leave it alone. Last night during sparring practice, Captain Levi made Eren sit out after one round while the others were allowed to continue practice. Today, Captain Levi made Eren sit on the side while the others were allowed to play in the water. Whatever he did, he knows that Captain Levi must hate him.____Alternatively:Captain Levi has a crush on Eren Jaeger and tries various ways to show him that, but Eren just won't get the hint.
Relationships: Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 106
Kudos: 611





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello !! this is my first attack on titan fanfic. please let me know what you think and if there is anything to improve on! thank you so much for reading :)

It was Saturday, meaning that it was finally Eren’s turn to clean the stables. Cleaning the stables is a heinous job, so the scouts usually grouped up in pairs to work on it. 

Eren was alone.

Like all the other scouts had, Eren did actually have a partner. He was partnered with Jean, but once they were paired up together Jean had made it very clear that Eren can do the job alone. Something along the lines of ‘Eren has titan power, he has enough energy to do it alone’.

Eren hated cleaning the stables, especially alone. There’s nothing pleasant about the job, it takes hours to clean when alone and the smell is absolutely revolting. 

Eren grumbled as he picked up the broom and bucket, wincing at the pain in his shoulder.

Eren’s face scrunched up in displeasure thinking about sparring practice from the day before. He missed his footing while sparring with Mikasa, which led to her accidentally jabbing him hard in the shoulder. She had apologized profusely, emphasizing that hurting Eren was the last thing she would ever do, so Eren lied and told her it hadn’t hurt. A worried Mikasa is worse than anything else. 

“I’m sorry Eren, I would totally help you but I’m on watch duty right now.” Armin said, patting a miserable Eren on the shoulder. 

Eren looked at him and attempted to muster a smile. His eye twitched slightly, urging to move away from Armin’s friendly touch, but he didn’t want to let him know he had gotten hurt. If Armin knew, that means Mikasa would soon know, and she would never practice with Eren again. Eren was not risking that. 

“It’s fine! I’ve done it alone every week so far, it’ll only take a few hours.” Eren said, trying to soothe his friends guilt. 

Armin tilted his head, looking at him pitifully. Eren groaned at the look on Armin’s face and proceeded to shove him outside of the stables. 

“Go, go do your job. I’ll be fine, I’ve done it before already.” Eren said, while pushing Armin until they reached outside of the stables.

“I’m going, I’m going!” Armin said, laughing at his friends attempt to kick him out.

Once he was alone again, Eren sighed. 

He turned and went back inside the stables, ready to start cleaning. 

“Damn Jean, leaving me all alone to do this. Where is the bucket again?” Eren muttered to himself, throwing a rag over his shoulder. 

He grimaced with pain, forgetting how tender his shoulder was at the moment. 

“What are you doing?”

Eren jumped in surprise at the second voice in the stable. When did another person enter the stable without him noticing?

Eren craned his neck to look up at the voice. There stood Captain Levi, leaning against the window of the stables with his arms crossed, a usual disdainful look on his face. 

“When did you get in here?” Eren questioned him, still frozen in place from the shock. 

“When you were talking with the blond shit head. Now, answer my question. What are you doing here?” Levi questioned him again, jumping off the window sill, landing near where Eren was. 

Eren looked at him, still dazed in confusion. 

“It’s Saturday. Today is my turn to clean the stables.” Eren said, looking over Levi’s shoulder to find the misplaced bucket.

Levi’s face scrunched up in confusion. “Isn’t that a job done in pairs?” He asked, leaning against one of the stables. 

“Yeah, usually. Except my pair hasn’t shown up in almost two months.” Eren said, scoffing bitterly. Levi stared at Eren silently, not saying anything, but Eren noticed his face darkening at what he had said. 

He finally caught eye of the bucket. It had been kicked aside unnoticeably, most likely done accidentally when Eren was attempting to shove Armin outside the stables. He brushed past Levi to go grab it, but Levi’s calculating eyes did not move away from Eren. 

Eren bent down to pick up the bucket, trying his best not to let his injured shoulder show obviously. The last thing he wanted was Captain Levi to think he was weak. 

Levi’s eyebrows scrunched up slightly, Eren never leaving his line of sight. Eren proceeded to start brooming, before yelping loudly.

Levi was suddenly next to him, with one finger sticking out, poking Eren in the shoulder, exactly where Mikasa had hit it the day previous. 

Eren couldn’t muffle the pain, confused and wondering. How did Captain Levi get across the room so quickly, and why did he poke Eren in the shoulder, coincidentally where it hurt him the most? 

Levi’s eyes squinted in suspicion, and opened his mouth to say something, before the doors to the stable were burst open.

Hange walked in and proceeded to start ranting, storming towards Levi. “Where did you disappear to? You said you were going to go watch the southern wall, but I couldn’t-oh!” She looked at Eren immediately halted, before a a look of realization fell over her face. She began to smile, before Levi kicked her shin. 

“Not a word four eyes. Leave, I’m coming soon.” Levi said, tightening his jaw in annoyance.

“Oh, oh of course! I’m going right now, no need for me to continue staying. Carry on with whatever you were doing, I’ll take your task.” Hange said, with a large grin on her face while being shoved out by Levi. 

Once it was just the two of them alone again, Levi angrily pointed at Eren.

“Why are you working here alone? Do you not know how the rules were planned shit head? There’s a reason why the jobs done in pairs, do you not know how to read or are you just that stupid?” Levi said, anger outlining his features, kicking the bucket away from Eren. 

Eren stared at him, not knowing what to say. He opened his mouth, then closed it and looked away, wishing to be anywhere but in the stables at the moment. He doesn’t know what he did to get Captain Levi this mad, but it would be best to just apologize and avoid Captain Levi at the moment. 

Eren fidgeted in spot, intimidated as Levi’s eyes hadn’t left his face. He opened his mouth to explain, but no words came out. 

Levi’s eyes softened ever so slightly that Eren was convinced he imagined it. 

“Go, leave. You’re useless here anyway.” Levi said, picking up the broom. 

Eren still stayed frozen in place, confused at what was going on. Why did Levi pick up the broom to start cleaning? Did he really think that Eren was so useless that he couldn’t even clean the stables? 

“I-uhm. I’ll go watch the southern wall then I guess…” Eren trailed off, unsure if that was the right thing to say in the situation. 

Levi snapped his head so quickly to look at Eren, and Eren’s eyes widened at how quickly Levi had turned to look at him. 

There was a hard glare on Levi’s face as he looked at Eren, 

“You’re injured and you’re trying to go keep watch? Are you fucking stupid? Go back to your room dumbass, and don’t come out.” Levi said, brooming the floor angrily.

Eren gaped at him. How did he discover that Eren was injured? Was he that obvious about it? He assumed he hid it well, since not even Mikasa nor Armin noticed it since yesterday, and they notice everything. 

Instead of questioning him, Eren decided to leave quietly while a fuming Levi cleaned the stables instead of him. When he was about to leave, he was interrupted.

“Oi!”

Eren turned to look at Levi, before he saw something in the air. He reached out and caught it, looking to see what it was. It was a soothing cream, specifically one of the ones that Hange makes for the scouts sometimes after a mission. Why did Levi have this with him? Did he just casually carry it wherever he goes?

Eren looked back at Levi, but his captains back had already turned on him, continuing to clean the stable, pretending as if the interaction hadn’t just happened. 

He muttered a thank you a rushed out the stable, confused and in pain. Levi probably gave him the cream because they have a sparring session tomorrow, and if Eren sits out then another person has to sit out too. Eren came to the conclusion that Levi just didn’t want him to ruin tomorrows sparring practice. It was the most logical conclusion. 

He rushed back to his room, spotting Hange waiting for him outside his door. Hange’s eyes zeroed to Eren’s hand, where Eren was holding the soothing cream. 

“Wait, how did you get that? You didn’t even come to my office yesterday. One person did sneak into my office yesterday after the sparring practice and took one without explanation-oh!” Hange suddenly stopped her rant, smiling hard at Eren. 

“Did you by any chance get that soothing cream from Levi?” She asked, grabbing Eren’s shoulders to forcefully make him stare at her in the eyes. 

“Yeah, he did. I think he doesn’t want me to mess up tomorrows sparring session.” He told her, tilting his head in confusion. 

Hange threw her head back, laughing maniacally. 

“Oh you’re so cute! Is that the reason you came up with? Have you thought of any other reasons?” She asked him, pinching his cheeks. 

“Um-yeah. There’s no other reason. He kind of hates me right now, so I’m going to go back in my room and put this on so I can join tomorrows session.” Eren told her, attempting to escape from her grasp. 

“Hate you? You think Captain Levi hates you? Oh my god, this is amazing.” She asked, laughing even harder than before. 

“Well, he definitely doesn’t like me. You should’ve seen his face when I was cleaning the stable, I thought I was about to die.” Eren said, shuddering thinking about Levi’s deadly gaze when Eren said he’s been cleaning the stables alone. It was clear Levi doubted Eren’s ability to do the job well himself. 

“Oh Eren, I don’t think you have to worry about anything, but go back to your room. Let’s sit together during lunch tomorrow!” Hange said while walking away, a hand in the air waving at Eren happily. 

Eren walked into his room, closing the door. He sighed before flopping down on his bed. Tomorrow, he needed to do his best at the sparring session to prove to Levi that he isn’t useless and won’t hold the squad back. The last thing he wants to do is be kicked out of Levi’s squad.


	2. Another Weird Day

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren was excited for the sparring session. Levi ruins his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> please read end notes !

Eren woke up from his sleep, rolling over and groaning. His shoulder still hurt, but the soothing cream that Levi had given him helped lessen the pain slightly. 

He swung his feet over the bed, reaching around looking for his shirt. 

He was interrupted by a knock on the door. Giving up on looking for his shirt, he got up to open the door instead. 

Eren opened the door, only to find Levi standing on the other side, his mouth open about to start speaking. 

Levi stared at him with wide eyes and no words came out. 

“Yes, Captain?” Eren asked him, straightening up and putting his arms to the side. 

“Did you just wake up?” Levi questioned him, his eyes darting around, looking anywhere but Eren. 

“Yes?” Eren replied, furrowing his eyebrows. Captain Levi was acting weird. 

“Nevermind. I’ll tell you later. Come down to breakfast.” Levi then turned sharply on his heels, and walked away without looking back.

Eren scratched his head in confusion. That was weird. 

The rest of the day flew by pretty quickly. Eren ate breakfast with Mikasa and Armin, and spent a majority of the day keeping watching on the southern part of the wall.

The scouts haven’t had a mission in almost two weeks now, and Eren was getting antsy. He wanted to go outside the walls and get into some action. Inside the walls, the only time Eren really got to have some fun was during the sparring sessions. 

Eren had been waiting all day for the sparring session. Watching the walls wasn’t boring per say, but for someone like Eren who was itching for something exciting to happen, watching the walls were a pain. 

When it was finally time for the sparring session, Eren pulled off his gear and jumped to slide down the wall.

“Eren, slow down! That’s dangerous!” Mikasa yelled at him from above, an exasperated look on her face. 

Eren laughed in response, clapping the dust off his hands. 

“He’s been waiting for the sparring session all day Mikasa, let him have some fun.” Armin said, shaking his head while following Eren’s steps. 

The trio had finally arrived to where the sparring sessions are usually are and sat down, waiting for everyone else to come. 

“I’m totally going to beat your ass this time!” Connie said, bumping his shoulder into Eren’s. 

Eren flinched in pain, his shoulder still tender. Connie looked at him in confusion, tilting his head wondering why he flinched.  
“Yeah, yeah! Watch your back this time. I’ll beat you the same as last time.” Eren said, shoving Connie right back, even harder than before. 

Connie forgot about the moment and started laughing, going on about how his loss was due to bad luck. 

Everyone got quiet once Captain Levi arrived. He stared at everyone, looking around for someone. When he finally found who he was looking for, he pointed a finger right at them.

Levi pointed at Eren, so Eren got up thinking that he was going first for the sparring session. He was fine with going first, if anything, Eren preferred going first. After all, he had been waiting all day for the session.

“You. You’re out today, you’re not sparring.” Levi said, then proceeded to look away and address the rest of them. 

Eren stood, confused and frozen in place. Connie tugged his hand down, and Eren flopped back down to where he was sitting. 

“Man, what did you do to piss him off? How did you manage to get yourself out of a sparring session? He usually hates making it uneven.” Connie whispered to him, looking at Eren from the side of his eye. 

Eren was just as confused as he was. He doesn’t know what he did to make Captain Levi this mad at him, but seeing as how he was still upset at Eren from yesterday, he must have done something that really offended him. 

Eren shrugged his shoulders and Connie sighed at the lack of answer. 

“I really don’t know what I did.” Eren insisted, glaring at the floor angrily. 

On a normal day, he would have protested his removal from the sparring session, but as seeing how upset Captain Levi was with him, he didn’t want to do something that would further offend him. 

“Everyone, go to your usual pairs. We’re doing three rounds this time.” Levi said, clapping his hands for everyone to start.

Everyone got up, moving to their usual places.

“Jean. You’re sparring with me today.” Levi said, clasping his hand on the scouts shoulder. 

Everyone paused and stared at the interaction. Levi usually didn’t include himself in the sparring sessions, and usually chose to walk around and watch how everyone else sparred. 

“Me Captain?” Jean asked, pointing a finger at his own chest. 

“Is there any other shit face named Jean? Get in place everyone.” Levi said, dragging Jean to get in position. 

Mikasa and Armin gave Eren looks of pity, but Eren just frowned and stared at his hands. 

He hated being excluded from the sparring session, but he hated Captain Levi disliking him more for some reason.  
After a few minutes of boredom, Eren finally looked up to watch how everyone was sparring with each other. He’s usually used to actually fighting, so seeing the others fight each other was interesting enough to him. Something strange caught his eye though. 

Captain Levi and Jean were sparring, sure, they were, but Jean was getting absolutely pummeled. 

Eren furrowed his eyebrows at the strange interaction. He knew Captain Levi usually never held back when it came to the scouts, but the sparring session with Jean was looking a bit one sided. Not only that, but it looked like Captain Levi was telling him something, all while sparring. 

Soon enough, the sparring session ended and Mikasa and Armin raced back to Eren’s side.

“What did you do to piss off Captain Levi?” Armin asked, immediately pestering him. 

“I really don’t know!” Eren said, throwing his hands in the air. 

Mikasa reached out and tugged Eren’s arm up. “Are you sure? Try to remember, there must have been something that you did to piss him off.” Mikasa said, now dragging him back to where they eat lunch. 

Eren furrowed his eyebrows, trying to remember all his conversations with Captain Levi the past week. He actually didn’t have much interactions with him this week, except for in the stables, but Levi seemed upset already at the stables. 

“I really don’t know what I did.” Eren said, walking inside and holding the door for the other two to walk in. 

Mikasa shook her head and patting Eren’s cheek twice, before they went to go grab lunch. 

When the trio finally grabbed their lunch and sat down, someone approached their table. 

Jean stood there, fidgeting nervously and scratching his neck nervously. Eren looked at the duo in confusion, and they both shrugged, not knowing what Jean wanted. 

“Can I speak to you Eren? Privately?” Jean asked, looking around nervously. 

“Um. Yeah, sure?” Eren replied, allowing himself to be pulled away with Jean. 

When they finally reached a private area, Jean began apologizing. 

“Look, I’m sorry for not helping you clean the stables. From now on, I’ll show up and we can do it together, okay?” Jean told him, still looking around for someone, but no one was there. 

“It’s fine. Just come next time.” Eren said, wanting to hurry back to his friends. 

“You forgive me right?” Jean said, pleading with his eyes, holding on to Eren’s arms. 

“I do. Can I go back now?” Eren said, shrugging himself out of Jean’s grasp. 

“If Captain Levi asks, I apologized okay?” Jean said, grabbing on to Eren even tighter. 

“Why would he even-? Sure, can I go back now please?” Eren said, feeling uncomfortable with the situation. Jean finally let him go, and Eren hurried back to lunch. 

This week was getting even weirder and weirder. 

He finally headed back to where Mikasa and Armin were, just to find someone unexpected sitting at their table. 

Hange sat there, waving at Eren with a large grin on her face. She beckoned him over, and Eren came to sit in his usual spot. 

“There you are! I told you that we were going to have lunch together. How was your day? Did you see Levi? Did you guys talk? What did you guys talk-”

“Hange, it’s the same as yesterday. Can I please eat my lunch?” Eren said. He didn’t mean to be rude, but he was having a bad week and he just wanted to eat his lunch. 

“Captain Levi made Eren sit out of sparring practice today.” Armin told Hange, taking another bite of his food. 

“Oh, did he now?” Hange asked, leaning back and raising her eyebrows. 

“Whatever I did, I got him really mad. I don’t want to talk about it anymore please. Can we drop it?” Eren asked them. He frowned thinking about today’s events. 

“But Eren, are you sure he’s upset with you? Have you thought about any other reasons?” Hange asked him, looking genuinely confused at what Eren was saying. 

“He kicked me out the stables yesterday, and didn’t let me participate in the sparring session today. What do you think?” Eren said, taking another bite of his food. 

Mikasa hummed in thought, blowing on her soup. 

Hange lifted a hand to her chin and began muttering. “What is he doing? I thought I taught him everything he needed to know, why won’t he just outright say- ow, ow!”

Hange’s muttering was interrupted by Levi pinching her ear, looking at her with a murderous look in his eyes. 

“Hange. Would you be so kind to join Erwin and I in talking about the next steps of the plan for the next mission?” Levi asked her with gritted teeth. 

“Ow, ow! I’m coming, I’m coming! Let me go you heathen! Eren, we’ll continue this conversation later okay?” Hange said while being dragged away. 

Eren looking at her, just nodding. 

Just as he thought his day couldn’t get any weirder. 

“Eren. By any chance, are you injured anywhere?” Mikasa asked Eren, analyzing his body for any obvious wounds. 

Eren froze up. “N-no! Not at all.” He said, lying through his teeth. 

Mikasa nodded and leaned back into her seat, blowing air through her teeth. 

“Why do you ask Mikasa?” Armin asks, cleaning his plate. 

“Nothing. I had a theory in mind, but if he’s fine then I really don’t know why Captain is acting the way he is.” She said. Eren tilted his head in confusion at that. 

He just hoped tomorrow would be less weird.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wow !! thank you so much !! i posted chapter 1 yesterday and it already has 60 kudos and comments, so i raced to release another one today. i really appreciate it ! please let me know what you think of this one :) <3


	3. Of Soup and Suds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren lands himself some burns at breakfast. Levi refuses to let him go play in the water without inspecting him first.

**Please read the end notes.**

* * *

Today was a new day, so there were new things to do.

It had been announced that next week, the scouts were finally going to be going back outside the walls. In order to let the scouts relax and enjoy their time before going, they were given a free day to themselves. 

Connie and Sasha had insisted that playing in the water would be the most ideal way to spend the day. 

Of course it was nothing compared to the ocean. It was merely a burrowed area in the floor, and the scouts came together one by one, carrying buckets of water and dumping it inside. 

Armin was usually most excited to play in the water, but since Eren wasn’t having the most ideal week of his life, he was excited a bit more than usual. 

So excited apparently, that he dropped boiling hot soup on his foot. 

It had been at breakfast time. Eren usually ate with his hands, but since their food supply was cut down a bit to save more for their mission, he grabbed a knife so they can split portions better. 

While at the table, he struggled cutting portions with the other scouts bumping into him, squeezing their faces together trying to analyze how large their portions would be. Sasha was the most unenthusiastic one about splitting portions, now had her face squished on Eren’s, urging him for a larger portion. 

Eren was somehow shoved from the back from all the commotions, and before he knew it, the steaming soup tipped over and onto his foot. 

He jumped up at the sudden pain on his foot and Sasha groaned in pain over their spilled breakfast.

“Eren, are you okay?” Mikasa said, jumping out of her seat to analyze the damage. 

Eren hissed, looking down at the reddening skin on his foot. 

All the scouts had finally backed away to give him space. Armin and Mikasa came to Eren’s side, carefully lifting his foot to examine the burns. 

“We need to get this checked out. These look like third degree burns, Eren.” Armin said, carefully touching the skin around the burn. 

Eren shook his head. “It’s okay, I don’t need to get it checked out. It’ll be almost healed by tomorrow anyway.” He said, trying to ignore the guilty looks the scouts were giving him. 

“Usually, that would be the case but you haven’t turned in a long time Eren. These will take longer to heal than they usually do for you.” Mikasa said, urging him to go check it out. 

“Slower than usual, but still much faster than you guys.” Eren said, teasing his friends. 

Mikasa shoved his arm and Armin laughed, shaking his head at his friend. 

“If it isn’t at least half healed by tonight, you’re getting this checked out.” Mikasa said, patting his back in warning.

Eren looked away, pretending not to hear her. It was true that his healing abilities have slowed down significantly since he hadn’t turned in a while, but they would eventually heal anyway. More importantly, he wanted to play in the water!

“I guess that means no breakfast then, huh?” Eren said, trying to lighten the mood. 

Sasha slammed her head on the table, groaning, while Connie patted her back in comfort. In the corner of his eye, Eren saw a figure turn and leave. It had watched the whole ordeal. 

* * *

“Let’s go!” A voice yelled from outside Eren’s bedroom. 

Someone was running down the hallways, knocking on all doors while laughing loudly. This could only mean one thing.

It was time to play in the water!

Eren hopped off his bed, yelping at the pain that shot up his foot. The male had a poor habit of forgetting where he injured himself, since it happens so often. 

He inspected the burn area. It still did hurt, but it looked slightly better than before. He wished it would hurry up and heal before Mikasa inspects it at nightfall. 

Eren got out of his room and saw Connie and Jean shoving into each other laughing, running down the stairs. He joined them and pushed ahead of them both. 

Connie laughed at Eren’s poor attempts of racing them, as Eren was still walking with a slight limp due to the burn.

“Are you going to be okay man?” Connie asked him, noticing his limp. 

“I’m part titan, Connie. It’ll be going in a few hours, unlike you!” Eren said, sticking his tongue out and running. Connie opened his mouth in fake dramatics, and chased Eren down the stairs before coming to a sudden halt. 

Captain Levi stood at the door, blocking their way to the direction of where the scouts usually play together. 

“Y-yes Captain?” Eren asked hesitantly, straightening up. Connie and Jean straightened up next to him as well, the air becoming tense. 

“Eren. My office. Now.” Levi said, glaring up at the trio. 

“Ah, but Captain today is our free day, we’re supposed to go play in the water and-“

“In the water?” Levi interrupted, raising an eyebrow. 

“Yes?” Eren replied, not understanding why it was being questioned. 

“I don’t care. My office now. Both of you, leave.” Levi said, shooing away the other two by flicking his hand.

“Yes sir.” Eren said in defeat, lowering his head. 

Connie and Jean gave him looks of pity as Eren followed behind Levi, dragging his feet behind him. 

He was already having a weird week as it was, he was excited to finally have a free day. It looks like the free day was going to be taken from him as well. 

When the entered the office, Levi ordered Eren to sit and closed the door.

Eren sat on the couch, still confused as to why he was called, while Levi grabbed things from his desk. 

Suddenly, Levi plopped down on the chair right next to Eren, and grabbed Eren’s foot, putting it on his lap. 

“C-captain?” Eren asked, pulling his foot away, confused. Levi grabbed his retracting foot and put it back on his lap. 

“Shut up and stop moving. I’m not going to eat you.” Levi said, picking up one of the items from next to him.

He rolled up Eren’s pants and picked up the tube from his side. He squeezed something out of the tube and began to apply it with two fingers to the burns on Eren’s foot. The younger male finally realized that Levi was applying burn cream to his wounds. 

“Ah Captain, I don’t need it, it’ll heal by tomorrow anyway.” Eren said, ears reddening, embarrassed at the interaction. 

Levi looked up and glared at him. “So because it’ll heal by tomorrow, you’ll stay in pain for no good reason?” He said, daring the other boy to question him. 

“I’m just saying, it’ll be wasted anyway-ow! Did you just press on it purposefully?” Eren asked, pouting at the pain. 

“Spew bullshit like that and I’ll do it again. Nothing here is wasted, especially if used on you.” Captain Levi said, suddenly looking down and going back to work on Eren’s foot.

Eren noticed how intimate their position was. He looked at Levi, and noticed the concentration on the older man’s face as he worked on spreading the ointment around. His hair fell over his eyes and the tip of his tongue stuck out in concentration. 

It was actually kind of….cute?

Eren’s eyes widened at his thoughts. He should not be thinking these types of thoughts about his Captain, and of all people, the strongest man inside the walls. 

But he couldn’t help it, looking back at the mess Levi was making on his foot. It was obvious he wasn’t used to doing it, there was ointment not only on the burn but surrounding the burn, going all the way up to his ankle. 

Eren giggled, putting his hand on his mouth to attempt to muffle it. 

His concentration broken, Levi looked up and tilted his head in confusion.

“What are you laughing at?” He asked, eyes squinting in suspicion. 

“You’re so—so—cute!” Eren finally stuttered out between his laughs. 

Levi’s eyes widened, suddenly pushing Eren’s foot off his lap and shooting out of the chair. 

Eren suddenly stopped laughing, realizing what he had done. He had just called his captain cute. His captain also happens to be Levi. The same Levi who has been absolutely mad at Eren this week.

“Oh my god-I’m-That’s-I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I just said that.” Eren said, his heart pounding in fear. He was about to get killed. 

Levi stood still, still not replying. 

Eren would have thought he seriously upset Levi, except that he noticed that the tip of Levi’s ears were red.

Was he…embarrassed? 

“Captain?” Eren asked, now getting concerned at the lack of response. 

“Would you-shut up shit face!” Levi said, putting a hand over his face. 

Oh no, definitely mad. That means it was time for Eren to leave. 

Eren got up and raced to the door, before Levi could start whatever murder plot he had in his mind. 

“Oi! Don’t get any water on your foot dumbass.” Levi suddenly called out to him when Eren reached the door. Eren turned around to look at him, but Levi was still looking away from him, seemingly finding something really interested on the chipped paint on the wall. 

Eren opened the door, before turning around for a moment. “Thank you Captain” He said in a small, soft voice, he was almost sure Levi didn’t hear it. 

Levi had heard it though, jerkingly nodding his head in slight affirmation. Eren left and closed the door behind him, and went to go join the scouts where they were playing in the water. 

“Eren, you finally escaped! Finally! Come join us!” Connie called out to him, waving his arm. 

In normal circumstances, Eren would jump at the chance to join them, even with his burned foot, but his Captains words still lingered in his mind. 

“No it’s okay, I think I’m just going to watch.” Eren said to him, plopping down on the floor a few feet away from where they were playing. 

Connie looked at him, absolutely confused because a normal Eren would never avoid playing in the water, no matter the circumstance. 

Eren just laid on the floor, a slight smile tugging on the corner of his lips. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I can’t believe a third chapter is already going up since this story was just posted 3 days ago, but I just wanted to quickly thank everyone for all the support! This story has 1000 hits now and over 150 kudos. Thank you all for the very lovely comments as well. I really appreciate you guys sharing with me your thoughts :) Hopefully, another chapter out tomorrow! <3
> 
> Also, please ignore the other notes. I removed them four times but they still keep showing :( I already decided to continue this. Does anyone know how to fix this? 


	4. Styled Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A change of hairstyle leaves Eren confused.

Today when Eren woke up, his foot was healed completely, one of the perks he can thank for being a titan shifter. 

He ruffled his hair and hopped out of bed, changing out of his pajamas and into freshly washed clothes. Today was Saturday again, meaning that it was Eren’s turn once again to clean the stables. He wondered if his partner would show up today.

It was already weird enough that Jean had apologized to him to begin with, so he wouldn’t be surprised if he ended up not showing up to the stables to help out. Today was going to be another long day for him. 

Eren trudged along to the stables, dragging his feet behind him. The male was still half asleep, waking up earlier than usual to get started on cleaning alone. 

He opened the doors to the stables and stood there, his mouth dropping open in shock. 

Jean was inside the stables already, picking up the brooms and buckets. 

“Finally got here, shit face?” Jean asked him, throwing a broom in Eren’s direction. Eren reached out a grabbed the broom, still in surprise. 

After cleaning the stables alone for the past few weeks, he was surprised to finally be getting some help. Maybe he wouldn’t need to wake up as early next time to clean, if Jean decided to show up again. 

Both of them started working together in quiet, the sun still rising as it was early morning. 

Jean was first to break the silence. “Hey…have you ever asked anyone out before?” 

Eren’s eyebrows furrowed at the random question. “Uh, no?” He replied, leaning his head on top of the broomstick. 

“Wait, who are you trying to ask out?” Eren asked, suddenly curious as to who caught Jean’s eyes. 

Jean looked away, before muttering something under his breath. 

“What?” Eren asked again, not catching a word. 

Jean visibly sighed. “Armin.” He repeated again, his voice still low. 

Eren squawked and tumbled off the broomstick, absolutely shocked.

“My Armin?” Eren said from the floor, with his hand over his mouth. 

The stable doors suddenly slammed open and Eren scrambled to get up. He hadn’t expected anyone else to be awake at this time, usually everyone else would get up for breakfast an hour after sunrise. 

Captain Levi stood at the door, giving both Eren and Jean a glance, then nodding to himself, before shutting the doors again. 

Jean looked at Eren and Eren just shrugged in response. 

“Wait, so what do you see in Armin?” Eren asked him, going back to cleaning. 

“I don’t know man. I really like his hair I guess.” Jean said, the tips of his ears reddening. 

Eren tilted his head. “Really? I think hair up looks better.” He said, shrugging his shoulders. 

“Hm. I don’t know. I like his hair whether it’s up or down.” Jean said, a sudden dreamy look in his eyes. 

Eren poked Jean in his back hard with the broomstick. “Don’t hurt my friend.” He said, a warning look in his eyes. 

“Yeah yeah. I wouldn’t want to anyway.” The other male replied, going back to work.

* * *

By lunch time, Eren was racing to the cafeteria. Cleaning the stables didn’t take nearly as long as it usually does, since Jean showed up this time to help out. 

By the time he got to the cafeteria, he was confused at what he saw. There tables were empty, all the scouts were gathered around together pointing and whispering at whatever was sitting in the middle. 

Eren walked closer to the crowd, jumping up to see what they were looking at.

In the middle, sat Captain Levi, arms crossed with a pissed look on his face. Eren looked at him from his shoes first, looking up, until his eyes landed and automatically understood why the crowd had gathered.

Levi’s hair. 

Levi’s usual hair that was parted and down, was now styled upwards. This is the first time Eren has ever seen Levi style his hair, even while knowing the older man for years. 

“He looks good doesn’t he?” Armin whispered, nudging Erem in the ribs. 

“H-huh?” Eren replied, failing to take his eyes off of Levi. 

Levi looked good. 

_Really_ good. 

Eren gulped and looked away. The way he has been thinking about his Captain lately has been bordering crossing a line Eren knows he shouldn’t cross. 

Eren needed to leave and go back to his room before he made it obvious that he found Levi dangerously attractive. He shouldn’t be finding his Captain this attractive. He knows that Levi dislikes the younger male, he was painfully aware of the fact.

So why did Levi look slightly disappointed when Eren looked at him, and abruptly turned away from the crowd and left the cafeteria?

* * *

Eren went back to his room and flopped on his bed, burying his head in his hands. 

His conflicting feelings needed to be controlled. The scouts would be going on a mission soon, he can’t have his mind drifting off on things that weren’t possible. 

The boy decided to sleep instead to pass his hunger and attempt to clear his mind, but before he could, there was a knock on the door. Eren cleared his throat before answering. 

“You can come in!” He called out, throwing his head back in his hands. It would probably be Mikasa, being as she was the only one who knocks on his door. 

Mikasa walked into the room, dropping something on the bed. 

“I’m sorry Mikasa I’m just not really feeling the-”

Eren looked up.

That was not Mikasa. 

Levi stood with his arms crossed, staring at the younger male. 

Eren looked to his left, to see that his Captain had dropped off some food on his bed. 

“Oi. I don’t know what happened back there, and I really don’t give a fuck, but don’t skip your meals. I’ll stay away from the cafeteria if I’m making you uncomfortable. Just eat brat.” Levi told him, looking to the side. 

Eren stared at him in confusion. 

“I-Well-It’s that-”

“Shut up. You don’t have to say anything. Just come down for dinner later, I’ll just stay in my office. Make sure you eat that brat.” Levi said, nodding his head towards the food, before turning to leave. 

“Wait!” Eren called out, grabbing Levi’s wrist. 

Levi turned back around, staring at where Eren’s hand was wrapped around his wrist. 

“I’m so sorry, I don’t know why I just did that.” Eren said, looking at Levi with wide eyes. 

“What did you want to say?” Levi asked him, slowly pulling his wrist away from the younger man’s grasp. 

“I still-I don’t even-but-”

“Stop trying to force yourself to say anything. Just eat your food. Come down to dinner later, I won’t be there.” Levi told him, before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. 

Eren sat on his bed for another minute, not understanding the interaction that had just happened. There was another knock on his door, this time Hange’s head popping in. 

“Hi there Eren. Can we talk for a moment?” She asked him, with a small smile on her face. Eren nodded at her and she came in, closing the door gently behind her. 

“I’m going to get straight to the point. How do you feel about Levi?” Hange asked him, sitting next to him on the bed. 

“Oh my god, is it obvious? I tried to hide it but it looks like that failed too. Please don’t tell him, please! I won’t let this affect the team either, I won’t say or do anything, I promise!” Eren said, grabbing both of Hange’s hands. 

“What do you mean by you tried to hide it?” Hange asked him, encouraging him to continue. 

“The fact that I like him. I promise I only found out myself recently, I’ll try my best to get over it so don’t worry about-”

Hange’s laughter cut him off, as she threw her head back in a fit of giggles. 

“Oh thank goodness! I was worried you didn’t like him there for a second. Can you do me a favor Eren? Can you tell him tomorrow, before we go on the mission?” She asked him, placing a hand on his knee. 

Eren’s face dropped. “Tell him? Wait what? With all due respect, I think he would plummet me into the floor if I told him. I would like to make it to the mission unharmed, Hange.” He told her, shuddering at the thought.

“I need you to trust me on this, and tell him. Levi is someone I care deeply about, and he’s been really down the past week. Although he’ll never admit it, I hate seeing him upset, and I’ve never seen him this upset before.” She told him, sighing and leaning down on the bed.

“But how will me telling him help?” Eren asked her, tilting his head in confusion. 

“Just trust me, and tell him. Honestly I was worried, I thought I would be here asking you to let him down gently. He’s a big softie, believe it or not. He would drop kick me if I ever told him that, but he really is a caring person. I hate seeing him hurt. You don’t understand the relief that I have right now!” She told him, wrapping him in a big hug. 

Eren’s arms slowly came around to pat her awkwardly. “What do you mean by let him down gently?” He asked her, confused by the statement. 

“Never mind that now. Forget anything I said. Just promise me you’ll talk to him before the mission?” She asked him, tightening her grip on him. 

“I promise.” He choked out, her tightened grasp holding him hostage. 

“Great! Good talk Eren. Thank you so much!” She told him, suddenly releasing the male. 

“Why are you thanking me?” He asked her, very much confused by everything she’s said since entering his room. 

“I haven’t seen Levi happy in a long time. He really deserves it.” She told him, ruffling his hair. 

He nodded mutely, still in confusion.

“Don’t mind me anymore, I could ramble for hours! I know I confused you a lot today, but I promise you that you’ll understand me later. Just make sure when you tell him, it’s in private. Bye for now!” Hange told him, giving him one last squeeze on the shoulder, before leaving the room. 

Eren sighed deeply. Now all he needed was the courage to confess. He just hoped that Levi wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with him after.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the final chapter comes out soon !! if anyone wants more chapters i wouldnt mind adding more :) if you think ending it soon is good that is also cool with me. thank you so much for about 2000 hits and 250 kudos !!! so appreciated, and for the very sweet comments <3


	5. confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> confession day is finally here

Eren’s heart was pounding.

Today was the day the scouts were set to go out on their next mission. They would leave by nightfall, meaning that Eren only had a few hours left before he would be able to talk to captain Levi. 

He grimaced thinking about the older man’s reaction. Would he be disgusted? Most likely. 

To be honest, Eren almost backed out of the idea of confronting him with his feelings. He feared that the rejection would create tension between the two, which is the last thing that they needed before going on a mission, especially considering how much they work together. 

But-he remembered Hange’s words from the previous day. 

For some reason, she had been very adamant on Eren confessing before the mission. He wasn’t sure the exact reason why, but he did trust her judgement. 

Hange was a bit weird at times, but Eren knows that she would never push him to confess without good reason. 

If Eren confessed and got rejected, using the mission would be a good excuse to not talk about it at all. The boy tried to use this as comfort for himself. 

He was ready. He could do this.

Except for one issue.

He couldn’t find Levi anywhere. 

At breakfast time, he had purposefully kept an eye out for him, but Levi never entered the cafeteria. 

When it came time to guard the walls, he had purposefully taken the long route, keeping an eye out on the area that Levi usually patrolled, but with no luck. 

During lunchtime, his eyes lingered at where Levi usually sat, but still, the older male never made an appearance. 

It was almost as if he was avoiding him. 

Wait- 

_“Shut up. You don’t have to say anything. Just come down for dinner later, I’ll just stay in my office. Make sure you eat that brat.”_

_“Stop trying to force yourself to say anything. Just eat your food. Come down to dinner later, I won’t be there.”_

Eren paused midwalk winced as he remembered the captain’s sharp words from the day before. He had almost forgotten that Levi had already stated he would be steering clear from the younger male. 

“Is everything okay? You’ve been spacing out all day.” Mikasa asked him, waving a hand in front of Eren’s face. 

Eren suddenly turned around and raced up the stairs to the captain’s office. 

“Wait-where are you going? Eren!”

Eren ignored her voice calling out to him. He had less than two hours before they were supposed to leave for the mission, he needed to find him by then. 

He slammed open the captain’s office, with his chest heaving from the run up the flight of stairs. 

Levi’s office was empty. 

Eren leaned back against the doorframe and dropped his head onto his hands and groaned deeply. He didn’t think the captain’s absence would be the cause that would halt his confession. 

He tried to retrace his thoughts and figure out where Levi was.

Eren could only think of one person who would know where Levi was.

He started running down the stairs, accidentally shoving into Connie and Jean. Connie yelped out as he lost his footing and Jean reached out to grab Eren’s shirt from behind him.

“Sorry!” He squeaked out, not bothering to look behind him. He was a man on his own mission. 

Eren ran to the walls, where he knew Hange would be patrolling. This was his last hope in finding the captain, or else he would have to go on the mission pretending that he didn’t have all these feelings bottled up in him. 

“Hange!” He called out, raising his hand to his mouth. 

“Hange! Are you here?”

He saw a head peak down from over the wall, and he grinned in relief. Hange waved at him, and in less than a minute she had come down to meet him.

“Hello there Eren!” She greeted him, a large smile adorned on her face. 

“Hello.” He replied panting, leaning against the wall in hopes of regaining his breath. 

“Were you running?” 

Eren jerkingly nodded his head, harshly rubbing his burning chest. 

“Wait, what happened?” Hange asked him, furrowing her eyebrows at the panicked looked male. 

“I can’t find captain Levi anywhere. I’ve been looking for him all day.” Eren told her, finally catching his breath. 

Hange’s grin returns to her face, and she perks up immediately, grabbing on to both of Eren’s hands.

“Wait, you’re actually going to confess?” She asked him eagerly, tugging his hands. 

Eren paused, before hesitantly nodding. 

She squealed, grasping on to his hands tighter. 

“He’s been in the basements all day today! And, he’s alone! Go get your lover man.” Hange told him, shoving him in the direction back to where he had came from.

“He’s not my lover-”

“Go get him!”

“Okay, I’m going,” He said, his face turning a bright red.

This time he walked back to the building. Now that he knew where Levi was, he found the adrenaline that was in his body suddenly begin to seep out. He thought confessing would be okay, but his thumping heart was telling him otherwise. 

He slowly trudged his feet down the stairs to the basements. 

Eren contemplated turning back around and going straight to his room, but he had worked himself up too much to simply turn around.

He wasn’t a child, he could handle a simple rejection. 

He thinks, at least.

So it was to his surprise, when instead of finding Levi in the basement, he found Armin instead. 

“Wait, what are you doing here?” He questioned him, feeling the need to internally scream.

The universe was working against him.

“That’s not a way to greet your friend,” Armin replied jokingly, kicking the stray pebble at Eren’s direction.

“I’m sorry, that’s not what I meant. Where’s captain Levi? I thought he was down here?” Eren asked him, feeling guilty at snapping at his friend.

“Oh, he was just a minute ago! He’s probably in his office again. He was here all day.” Armin tells him, and at that, Eren sighs, before dashing up the stairs once again.

Eren _will_ confess today. Even if it seemed like the universe was working against him. 

He ran up the stairs, two steps at a time. He needed to hurry and tell him, before he psyched himself out again.

When he finally arrived outside of Levi’s office again, he paused to take a breath. He breathed in and out deeply a few times, before raising his hand and knocking twice on the door. 

“Enter.” 

Eren perked up at Levi’s voice. He finally found him!

Eren opened the door and peeked his head in. Levi was sitting at his usual chair behind his desk, his head leaning over scattered papers of notes and important documents on their missions. 

Levi looked up and froze as he made eye contact with the younger male.

“M-may I come in?” Eren asked, suddenly feeling abashed. 

Levi nodded mutely, his eyes still wide. 

Eren gave him a small hesitant smile, before entering and closing the door gently behind him. He stood near the door, feeling very out of place in such a large office. Should he go sit? Was he allowed to.

“Come sit.” 

That answered his questions. He slowly walked to the couch nearest to Levi. Which, in retrospect, was a bad idea in the small chance the Levi were to attempt to strangle him after hearing his confession. 

“What are you here for?” Levi asked him, leaning his face against his hand, looking straight into Eren’s eyes. 

“I wanted to…talk to you about something.” Eren said, his mouth feeling dry. He began to nervously wring his hands. Why did he think this was a good idea?

“Is it about the past few days? I’ve been trying my best to give you space-”

“It’s not about that!” Eren replied, his voice raising a few octaves. 

Levi’s face pulled into a frown.

“Than, what is it about?” 

Eren swallowed nervously, continuously wringing his hands. _He couldn’t do this, he couldn’t do this, he couldn’t do this-_

“I’m going to tell you something, but you have to promise not to kill me after.” Eren said, the words rushing out of his mouth.

Levi paused, before Eren spotted the hints of a smile tugging at the corner of the captain’s lips. 

“I won’t.” He replied with mirth in his voice. 

“You promise?” Eren said, finding it harder to breathe. 

“You have my word.”

The words started falling out of his mouth before Eren could even collect his thoughts. 

“I know we’re going on a mission soon, but I needed to tell you this before we go, and I don’t want you to hate me before we go so I just wanted to say I completely understand if you feel repulsed towards me after and never want to see my face-”

Levi eyes widened in confusion, and he lifted up the hand to stop the younger male. Eren’s voice was going borderline hysterical, whatever he was trying to tell Levi was coming out very panicked. 

“Wait, breathe for a second. I’m not going to be mad, just catch your breath.” Levi told him, feeling concern well up for him.

“Ikindofreallylikeyou!” Eren bursted out, his face lighting up in flames. 

“Wait, what?” Levi asked him, scratching his head in confusion, “Can you say that again, but slower?”

“I kind of really like you. Like, more than captain and soldier. Like the way Jean likes Armin. And I know you hate me and like I said I completely understand if you never want to see my face again. But I still wanted to tell you before we left on the mission.” Eren said, the words still rushing out, but much more slowed down then his previous statement. 

Eren stared at the floor, before taking a peak at Levi’s face. 

Levi was frozen, his mouth slightly open in an ‘o’ shape.

Eren took this as a bad sign. This was worse than getting strangled.

The younger male felt shame burning in his stomach, crawling up his chest. Before he could control himself, he felt the tears stinging his eyes and his hands curling up at his sides, and he bit his lip to control its quivering. 

Levi suddenly snapped out of his daze when he saw the tears in the other’s eyes, and before Eren could blink, he was by his side, reaching out an arm uncertainly. 

“Wait, you think that I hate you?” Levi asked him, his mind running a thousand thoughts per minute. 

“I know that you hate me, and it’s okay really, I get it.” Eren replied, wiping away a stray tear angrily. 

“But I like you too?” The older male replied, his statement sounding more like a question. 

Eren furrowed his eyebrows angrily. 

“You don’t have to lie to me just because we’re going on a mission. I’m not going to let this get in the way, I’m not a _kid_.” Eren replied, rubbing a few more stray tears away from his face. 

“No! No, I swear, I like you, I always have. I’ve been trying to show you that the past month.” Levi replied, frantically raising his arms in a surrender position. 

“Wait, then what about when you yelled at me when I was cleaning the stables?”

Levi groaned, knowing that the boy would have misunderstood that. Levi knew he had a certain…way with words sometimes. 

“I wasn’t mad at you, I didn’t want you to stress yourself by cleaning it all alone. It’s a lot for once person,” He replied honestly, wincing at the memory. 

Eren only looked more confused. 

“Then what about the time when you wouldn’t let me join sparring practice?” Eren questioned him again, his tears temporarily halting. 

“Your shoulder was injured. I didn’t want you to get hurt again.” Levi mumbled, his ears turning red at the confession. 

Eren felt the shame rise again. So, Levi was aware that Eren’s shoulder was injured. He wasn’t that good at hiding injuries as he thought he was. 

Eren shifted his body towards Levi, staring at him directly in the eyes. “But wait, what about when you didn’t let me play in the water when the others were allowed to?”

“The others didn’t have severe burns that weren’t supposed to go near water.” Levi replied. 

Eren leaned back, taking all this information in. 

So, every time he thought that captain Levi hated him…was him trying to show the younger that he liked him?

Eren’s eyes welled up in tears again, feeling tremendously guilty. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry I thought you hated me, I’m sorry I didn’t notice and you were trying this whole time on your own.”

Levi’s face crumpled as he saw the younger tear up. He raised a hesitant hand near his face, before dropping it.

“Can I touch you?” 

Eren jerkingly nodded his head, not trusting his voice. 

Levi immediately reached out and grabbed his face, wiping away the falling tears with his thumbs.

“Please don’t cry. I know I’m not the best with words, but I’m trying, I swear.”

That only made Eren cry harder, beginning to wail. 

Levi looked at him frantically again. “Did I say something wrong already?”

Eren shook his head, finding it hard to stop the tears. 

“Why are you crying then?”

“B-because you were trying this whole time to show me you liked me and I was selfish and d-didn’t even notice and now I’m making you feel guilty even t-though you were trying this whole time and I was the one not m-making effort.” He replied in stuttered breaths, wiping his nose with his sleeve. 

Levi stared at him for a few seconds, before pulled the boy into his lap. 

Eren stared at him with wide eyes, his wails suddenly stopping.

“Is this okay?” Levi asked him, looking away nervously. Eren noticed the tips of the captain’s ears reddening. 

Eren nodded his head. This was okay, this was _very_ okay with him. 

He shifted to get more comfortable, straddling his legs around the older. 

Levi wiped the remnants of the tears on the younger’s face, feeling his heart being tugged at the sight of the upset male. 

“I want you to understand something. I like you, I think I’ve liked you for much longer then I can even think back. I’m not the best with words, so I tried to show it in other ways but I know now that those were not very good ways to show them.” Levi told him, still holding the younger’s face in his hands. 

“I want to be with you. It’s all I want. But before I ask, I need you to understand that I will make a lot of mistakes. I don’t know how to speak _polite_ sometimes and I snap easily and there will probably be more misunderstandings in the future. I can’t tell you that I’ll change the way I act with the others, because I won’t. But, if you accept me I promise that I will try my best to get better at talking, and I’ll change the way I talk and act for you and for you only. I’ll try to be someone deserving of you.” Levi told him, his eyes looking earnestly at the younger males, trying to show him that he was sincere. 

“You would do that for me?” Eren asked him in a small voice.

Levi reached his hands down to Eren’s waist, splaying his hands there. He nodded at him mutely, confirming. 

“Do you accept me?” Levi asked him, looking away from the other’s eyes. 

Eren studied Levi’s face for a moment. He noticed the way his eyes darted nervously across the room after he asked the question, the way his lips tugged downwards, the furrow between his eyebrows…

Eren noticed Levi was just as nervous, possibly even more nervous than he was. 

Not wanting to delay any longer, he laid a hand on the older’s wrist. Levi looked at his eyes, swallowing nervously. 

“Yes, of course.” He replied softly, finding it humorous that Levi thinks he would even entertain the idea of any other answer. 

“Wait, really? Are you sure? Like, you really accept me?” He asked him, perking up, staring at the boy with wide eyes. 

Eren giggled nervously before nodding his head.

Levi suddenly put a hand on Eren’s back, pushing him harshly against him. Eren was laying his head now on Levi’s shoulder, as the older grabbed on to him tightly as if he would disappear any second. 

“Thank you.” Levi whispered into Eren’s hair, tightening his hold of the boy. 

The two males sat in the same position for a few minutes, their bodies still entangled with each other. Eren has finally calmed down, his breathing now aligned with Levi’s, only sniffling every few moments. 

Eren couldn’t believe it. 

The last thing that he thought would have happened, actually happened. 

He leaned back from his grasp suddenly, staring at him with wondering eyes. 

“Wait, so how long have you liked me for?” Eren asked him, tilting his head to the side with wide eyes.

Levi felt his heart flutter at the sight, before coughing looking to the side. He was already going to be the death of him. 

“Probably two years now.” He replied, his hands still splayed on the younger’s back. 

Eren’s eyes widened considerably at the answer. Two whole years?

“Even when everyone was scared of my titan side?” Eren asked him, almost in disbelief. 

“Maybe before that.” Levi replied, humming in thought. 

“Wait-Is that the reason why you took me to your squad and let me stay in the basement?” 

“That, but also that leaving you with the others opened the possibility of them harming you in any way.” Levi replied, and Eren felt his jaw go slack incredulously. 

Even though Eren was the one who was part titan, Levi was worried about others harming him? That means that he trusted Eren from the start, that he would never intentionally hurt the others. So truthfully, it wasn’t just Mikasa and Eren that believed in him back then. Levi had also believed in him. 

Before he realized what he was doing, Eren smashed his lips down, kissing the older male. He felt Levi pause for a second, before returning the kiss just as eagerly, reaching his hand up to grab the younger’s hair, leaving his other hand grabbing on to his waist. 

Eren dipped down lower, attempting to get as close as possible to the other’s body while they never broke the kiss. Eren left his hands resting on the older’s neck. 

Levi slipped his tongue into the other’s mouth, and Eren felt upset they were going on a mission. He wanted to stay there and kiss the other for hours. 

Suddenly, Levi pulled back, a satisfied smile on his lips. 

“You need to breathe, baby.” He told the younger, stroking his cheek with his thumb. 

Eren breathed in deeply, not noticing that he had forgotten to breathe while kissing him. His face burst into flames at the pet name. Levi, noticing how flustered the younger became, smiled deviously. Eren had a feeling it would not be the last time he hears the endearment. 

Suddenly, the door slammed open and Hange stood there, staring frozen at the two on the couch. She slammed the door shut again, and Eren swore he could hear her yell in victory from behind the door.

“Just wanted to say that the mission got delayed another few days. Bye now!” She called out from behind the door humorously, before leaving quickly. 

Levi turned back to Eren, a loving look in his eyes. 

“Stay with me tonight?” He asked him, leaning his head against the other’s. 

Eren nodded shyly, and Levi kissed his forehead. He could definitely get used to this. 

Thank god for Hange.

* * *

**and this concludes a lost cause (take a hint)! thank you so much to everyone who has read from the beginning. i know this was very rough, being the first work on my page. maybe one day i'll come back and re-edit everything.**

**if anyone is interested in any bonus chapters/specific scenes, feel free to ask! i don't mind adding more.**

**and to everyone else reading this for the last time, it was a pleasure! please let me know what you thought <3**


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